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Orange County buyers snap up 1,929 homes last month

It's the fastest pace for any January since 2007, says DataQuick.

By Kristen SchottPublished: February 15, 2011 03:13 PM

Orange County buyers snapped up 1,929 homes last month, marking the highest total for any January since 2007, when 2,400 properties sold. The region's median price, on the other hand, did not fare quite as well last month, according to new stats from DataQuick.

Last month's sales total represents a 3.3 percent uptick from January of 2010, when 1,867 properties were sold. But, the number dropped 29.6 percent from December, when 2,739 transactions were recorded, due to a "normal" seasonal decline.

For the Southern California region – which includes the Orange, LA., Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego and Ventura counties – sales plummeted to 14,458, down 5.9 percent from 15,361 in January 2010 and 26 percent from December, when numbers totaled 19,528. In fact, it's the slowest pace for the month since January 2008.

Meanwhile, Orange County's median home price fell 2.4 percent to $415,000 last month, down from $425,000 in January 2010. But, the number did rise a slight 1.2 percent from December 2010's median of $410,000.

Regionally, the median fell 0.6 percent to $270,000 in January, down from $271,500 at the same time in 2010. The median also represents a 6.9 percent drop from $290,000 in December – it's a "more than usual" decline, as investors and others seeking lower-cost homes made up a larger share of sales, according to DataQuick.